Likely Van Gogh Fake Still Draws Crowd

Published 8:00 pm, Monday, May 19, 2003

A prized self-portrait by Dutch artist Vincent van Gogh may be fake, but Norway's National Gallery couldn't be happier.

Visitors to the Oslo art museum have increased since April, thanks to curious Norwegians eager to see the painting which has become the center of controversy about its authenticity, gallery curator Frode Haverkamp said Tuesday.

The untitled painting, done mostly in green and blue hues, shows the anguished face of van Gogh, who lived from 1853-1890, shortly after he cut off his right ear. It's believed to be one of the few self-portraits he did after mutilating himself.

But earlier this year, Norwegian art historian Johannes Roed concluded that the untitled artwork was likely a fake, painted by someone else.

"For a long time, we have had doubters," Haverkamp said of the painting acquired by the National Gallery in 1910. He said the gallery is conducting its own investigation into whether it is a fake or not.

But doubts have turned the painting into the museum's biggest attraction, drawing more attention than Norwegian Edvard Munch's classic, "The Scream."

When the self-portrait (or portrait, depending on who's asked) returned to Oslo last month after an exhibition in Italy, visits to the state-owned gallery rose from 1,200 the first weekend to 3,200.

"Everyone wants to see it," said Haverkamp. "But if they happen to notice other great works on the walls, that's fine too."